My Paris office runs on some of the world's cleanest electricity: 67% nuclear, 15% solar, just 1% gas. This stems from France's post-1973 oil shock decision to bet big on nuclear energy, creating one of history's fastest nuclear build-outs. The strategy insulated the country from Gulf volatility.

Today's energy crisis is pushing other nations toward similar paths. Renewables captured 85.6% of all new global power capacity last year, while fossil fuel prices spike unpredictably. The traditional energy trilemma—balancing security, affordability, and environmental goals—now points decisively toward clean alternatives.

China emerges as the major beneficiary, dominating solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles. Unlike volatile oil suppliers, Chinese manufacturing provides stable, scalable green technology. This represents a strategic shift: cleaner air as an accidental byproduct of economic pragmatism.

The irony is stark: an oilman president inadvertently catalyzed the very transition he opposed. When fossil fuels become both expensive and unreliable, market forces drive change faster than policy ever could.